They could find no fault with the violation notice, so that appeal was denied. And they could find no reason to issue a variance based on hardship.

“I appreciate the testimony,” Beecher said. “From an emotional stance, I see it, I’m a mother myself. But this hardship was self-created.”

In order to get a variance based on hardship, an applicant must meet four criteria. Wisherd and Beecher felt the family could have avoided this with a phone call to the township office to ask if Manchester Township allowed potbellied pigs to be kept as pets in residential areas.